


Trial and Error

by kendokao



Series: First Dates [1]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Friendship, OCs galore, but only out of necessity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26770249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kendokao/pseuds/kendokao
Summary: Dating is hard when you're young and clueless. First dates, especially. But all of Taichi's and Sora's first dates have one thing in common — at the end of the day, you will always have your friend.Ch. 2: Yamato
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Takenouchi Sora, Takenouchi Sora & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takenouchi Sora/Original Male Character, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya/Original Character(s)
Series: First Dates [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951468
Kudos: 3





	1. First Impressions

Yagami Taichi’s first date is a good effort, but his plan has one minor flaw.

Asking out Kikuchi from Class B is simple enough. Sure, it had taken him about a week to work up the nerve to say anything, but aside from that everything goes smoothly. He asks, she says yes, all is well.

He’s pretty proud of the location he comes up with. Between his sister and Sora, he’s been hearing about the new baby penguin at the aquarium for weeks. Girls are total suckers for cute animal stuff, right? The timing seems perfect; a trip to see a baby penguin is bound to earn him major points with Kikuchi.

The afternoon of the date arrives, and early signs are promising. Kikuchi is far from the bubbliest girl in their year, but she lights up as they make their way through the aquatic exhibits. “Did you know that sea otters hold hands to keep from drifting apart when they sleep? Isn’t that adorable?” she squeals. No, Taichi did not know that. Yes, it does sound adorable. The ball of nerves that’s been in his stomach for the last several days untangles itself a little as he listens to her gleefully rattle off more marine life trivia.

Finally they reach the penguin habitat. Taichi rushes to the railing, trying to spot the baby so he can point it out to Kikuchi. There are a few penguins swimming in the water, and a dozen more crowding around the zookeeper who is clearly preparing to give them lunch. They all look the same size. “Isn’t there supposed to be a baby?” Taichi urgently asks the person next to him.

“Baby? Oh no, it hasn’t made its public debut yet. It only hatched a couple weeks ago, right? That’s far too young to be set loose in the exhibit.”

Taichi instantly deflates. Kikuchi looks a little disappointed, but he barely registers her expression. How could the baby penguin not be public?! Why did Hikari and girls at school make such a big fuss when no one could even see it yet? So much for his plan of impressing a girl with cute baby animals.

The rest of the date doesn’t matter, Taichi spends it in a funk of outrage and humiliation. After he walks Kikuchi home, he calls Sora to complain. “It’s not fair, I was gonna be so cool for taking her to see the thing everyone’s talking about, and it wasn’t even there,” he whines.

“I could have told you that, but you never asked! How was I supposed to know that was your whole reason for picking the aquarium?” Sora groans. “Stupid Taichi…”

***

Takenouchi Sora’s first date is a little awkward, but not for the reasons you’d think.

It’s her first year with the tennis club, and she hasn’t spent a lot of time with her new teammates yet. She’s a little surprised that Mori from the boys’ team knows who she is, much less wants to ask her out, but somehow he is standing in front of her doing just that.

“So I, uh, heard that you used to be in soccer club, before you joined tennis,” he says, cheeks beginning to flush. “My cousin actually plays for Keio, and I’ve been meaning to go to one of his games. Would you like to go… you know… together?”

Sora lights up. “Really? Keio University? Your cousin is so cool! And I’ve never been to anything more than a middle-school-level game in person. I’d love to go!”

“G-great,” Mori stammers. “So it’s a date.”

“Oh! Date…” The word sends her into a momentary daze as the situation sinks in. A boy actually thinks of her that way?

She snaps back to attention seeing Mori become increasingly flustered. “Yes! Of course! I’m looking forward to it,” she assures him with a smile.

Taichi whines when she tells him in homeroom the next day. “It’s so unfair, you don’t even play anymore and you get to go to a Keio match! Hey, do you think he could get me in, too?”

Sora gently smacks his arm. “Stupid Taichi, I just told you it’s a date, so _no_ , I am not asking Mori-kun if you can tag along _on our date_. Besides,” she huffs, “just because I stopped playing soccer doesn’t mean I don’t still like to watch.”

That second part, in fact, is so true that it backfires.

The morning of the date she is appropriately nervous. She’s spent a lot of time with boy friends, but this is new territory for her. She fusses over the outfit she discussed with Mimi the night before (morning in New York) and emails one last photo for final approval.

Mori makes surprisingly easy conversation on their way to the university stadium, considering how shy he seemed when asking her out. He’s pleasant enough company, but once the game kicks off, Sora’s attention is elsewhere. The two teams are fairly evenly matched, which makes for both an intense and frustrating display. Sora’s eyes remain fixed on the field, accompanied by a series of groans, yelps and exclamations.

“What is the ref doing?!”

“C’mon, c’mon—NOOO, he was open on the left!”

It comes down to a well-timed goal in the final minutes of the game, and Keio wins the match 3-2. Sora cheers, and it’s only as Mori jumps to his feet next to her that she realizes she has been ignoring him the entire game.

“I wasn’t expecting such an intense game! I think my cousin played pretty well, though,” Mori says. He meets her eyes and raises an eyebrow. “So, you weren’t kidding when you said you liked soccer, huh?”

Sora wouldn’t mind if the ground opened up and swallowed her whole right about now.

“… so I bought him a soda as an apology before we left the stadium and insisted on paying for the ice cream we got afterwards as well. He didn’t seem too offended, but it’s hard to say since I feel like I didn’t get to know him that well,” she says with a sigh into the phone.

Taichi laughs on the other line. “Sora, only you would manage to feel so bad about something on a date that the guy gets out of paying. _I’ll have to remember that…_ But back up a bit, walk me through that last play again…”

***

Taichi’s first date with Yasuda Yuriko is nothing short of a disaster.

The night starts out typically enough. He meets her at the train station and leads the way to this great little Thai place he discovered. (Actually, the restaurant comes at Koushiro’s recommendation, but it’s the thought that counts – Yuriko is thrilled that he remembers her love of Southeast Asian cuisine.) They split a satay appetizer and a large helping of pad thai. Afterward, as Taichi is sipping his coconut milk, he notes that she looks a bit pale and asks if everything is okay. She makes a dismissive gesture, insisting that she’s fine and they should get going, they don’t want to miss the movie, right?

But something feels off the entire walk to the theater, and he asks again if she is okay. He spots a bench a few paces ahead and gestures toward it; maybe she should sit down for a few minutes, he suggests. She brushes him off once again, smile firmly in place, declaring that the worried expression on his face is completely unnecessary.

Two blocks later she hits the pavement, limbs flailing uncontrollably. Taichi’s eyes widen in horror; he’s never witnessed anyone having a seizure before. As soon as he registers that that is what this is, he fumbles around for his wallet and sticks it in her mouth.

By the time the ambulance arrives, her body is limp, and his mind is numb. The paramedic assures him that he did the right thing and that Yuriko has just passed out. He rides in the ambulance but barely registers anything more that happens until her parents show up at the hospital. Their accusatory glares snap him out of his stupor, and a familiar sense of guilt washes over him as he stands in the hospital waiting room. He is eight years old all over again, cheek tingling from the sting of his mother’s slap.

He is not allowed to see Yuriko when she wakes up, though the nurse assures him that she will be just fine. He cannot go home and face Hikari, not now, not like this. Without really thinking about what he’s doing, he finds himself standing on the Takenouchis’ doorstep. After apologizing to Ms. Takenouchi for the late hour, he is ushered inside by Sora. She takes in his sorry state and asks what went wrong. He falls apart right then and there, and just about the only word she can make out is “hospital,” but that tells her all she needs to know. After closing the door to her room she immediately sits down beside him, takes him in her arms, and lets him cry.


	2. Yamato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora’s first date with Yamato is perfectly lovely, until a certain overprotective partner interrupts. Taichi gets caught in a set-up.

Sora’s first date with Yamato is interrupted by a certain overprotective partner Digimon.

The date itself goes better than she dared to hope. They grab a bite to eat at a café in a quiet part of town, where they’re less likely to run into nosey classmates and Teenage Wolves fangirls. Not that they feel the need to keep their date a secret; Sora simply gets that Yamato is a private person, and they share an unspoken understanding that they could use some space, free from pressure, to navigate their changing relationship.

Sora still feels a bit shy at first — after all, she’s the one who put her heart on the line when she showed up at his concert with the homemade cookies — but Yamato is remarkably calm, and it doesn’t take long for his reassuring smile to put her at ease. Afterward, he takes her to the band’s (empty) rehearsal space and strums a few songs on his guitar. Any remaining cares Sora had melt away. She enjoys hearing him play solo again; it reminds her of the times she caught him playing harmonica in the Digital World, when he thought no one but Gabumon and Takeru were listening.

He walks her home even though their apartments are opposite directions from the train station. “I had a really good time tonight,” she says with a blush as they reach her front door.

“Me, too,” he replies, face betraying nerves for the first time that night. He rocks back, stiffening for just a moment before leaning in for the kiss.

As their lips meet, something behind Sora rattles. The apartment window opens with a loud thunk, and a ruffled pink bird tumbles out.

“STOP EATING SORA’S FACE!” Piyomon screeches, charging at Yamato.

Yamato jumps back, breaking off the kiss. Sora manages to turn around about halfway before Piyomon brushes up against her.

Sora scrambles to get her arms around the Digimon, cheeks reddening in both embarrassment and anger. “Piyomon, calm down! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Yamato was trying to eat your face! He could be under the control of an evil Digimon!” Piyomon cries, fighting Sora’s hold on her.

“What?! Don’t be ridiculous, that was a kiss! It’s a nice thing, and I wanted him to do it!” Sora stiffens, instantly regretting her choice of words. Did she really just say that out loud with Yamato standing right there?

His face is also bright red, and he’s jammed his hands into his pockets, shoulders hunched. He couldn’t look more closed off if he tried. Sora sighs.

“Just go,” she tells him. “I’ve got this, it’s fine. I’ll catch up with you at school.”

He hesitates for just a second before nodding and making off in the direction of the apartment building’s elevator.

“As for you,” Sora sternly addresses the Digimon still squirming in her arms, “I think it’s time I show you some rom-coms.”

About an hour later Sora's phone lights up with a text from Taichi asking how the big night went.

 _Let me know if I need to kick his butt,_ he adds (a little too willingly, Sora thinks).

 _Yamato was a perfect gentleman,_ she replies. _Piyomon, on the other hand… maybe next time I’ll call on you for some Digi-babysitting._

***

Taichi’s first “date” with Yamato is a set-up.

The boys have been fighting all week, but as middle schoolers they're getting a little old to work it out with their fists. The tension is boiling over to the rest of the group. By the third day of them not speaking, Sora has gotten tired of being the go-between. So for what won't be the last time, Hikari and Takeru devise a plan.

With weekend soccer practice cancelled, Taichi is looking forward to an afternoon of total laziness. But Hikari whines about wanting to go to the Ferris wheel. “Aren't you old enough to go out with friends by yourself?” he asks. Her girlfriends from school are all busy, she replies. And, she says very pointedly in front of their mother, he owes her a favor.

“Taichi, didn't I hear you say your practice got cancelled? Just go with your sister,” Yuuko says.

So he does, and who do they run into but Yamato and Takeru.

Taichi attempts to bolt, but Hikari latches her arm around his and drags him toward the Ferris wheel, which happens to be where the brothers are headed. Takeru greets the Yagamis warmly, while Yamato glares daggers of ice at Taichi.

Takeru and Yamato are ahead of Taichi and Hikari in line, but when they reach the front, Takeru steps back to help Hikari push Taichi forward before he or Yamato has a chance to react. They're stuck sharing a gondola for the duration of the ride.

Sora calls Taichi later that night. “So, did you and Yamato kiss and make up?”

“You were in on it, too?!”

“Stupid Taichi. We had to do something, you both are just too stubborn. And it was over the smallest thing!”

Taichi briefly considers countering by reminding her of a certain hair clip, but wisely decides against it and ends the conversation there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually write Sorato, but I couldn't take on this concept and not go there. For Taichi and Yamato, I remembered the Ferris wheel scene in tri and thought, _This can't possibly be the first time the team has had to do something like this._
> 
> A couple more dates to come; I initially planned to fit everything in two parts, but decided to let the Yamato scenes have their own chapter.


End file.
